One Bold Prediction for Each AFC Team Entering 2022
By Hunter Haas
Anything could happen this season in the AFC, so here is one bold prediction for each team in the conference!
The AFC has been dominated by quarterback play for much of the last two decades. Sure, a lot of that is credited to the ageless Tom Brady, but the point remains true. An astonishing 16 of the last 20 Super Bowls featured one of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger. If you wanted a trip to the Super Bowl in the 2000/2010’s, you were all but guaranteed to see at least one of these quarterbacks standing in your way.
As things currently stand, the talent at quarterback is spread out much more. The amount of gifted quarterback’s to enter the league yearly is absurd, and has resulted in many teams landing their franchise cornerstone at the position. The NFC has their fair share of high-end signal-callers, but the AFC continues to reign supreme in that regard. Just take a look at each expected starting quarterback in the AFC in 2022:
•Lamar Jackson (Ravens)
•Joe Burrow (Bengals)
•Deshaun Watson/Jacoby Brissett (Browns)
•Mitchell Trubisky/Kenny Pickett (Steelers)
•Josh Allen (Bills)
•Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins)
•Zach Wilson (Jets)
•Mac Jones (Patriots)
•Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
•Justin Herbert (Chargers)
•Derek Carr (Raiders)
•Russell Wilson (Broncos)
•Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars)
•Ryan Tannehill (Titans)
•Davis Mills (Texans)
•Matt Ryan (Colts)
The NFC boasts the multiple-time league MVP’s, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. They also have Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott, and Matt Stafford among others. This still doesn’t touch the heights that they AFC reaches. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are arguably the two best quarterbacks in the league, and there’s a real chance neither has entered their prime yet. The same can be said about former MVP, Lamar Jackson and 2021 breakout stars, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. Russell Wilson is the newest addition to the conference, bringing over his Super Bowl winning experience to the Denver Broncos organization.
One Bold Prediction for Each AFC Team Entering 2022
As you can tell, the AFC is deeper than it has ever been. There is an extra wildcard team nowadays, so there are more seats at the table, but that does not make the murderers’ row of contenders any easier to beat. Patrick Mahomes has never missed an AFC title game in his career, making Kansas City the de facto leader in the clubhouse entering 2022. However, given the sheer amount of talent in the conference, anything could happen this coming season.
In this article, I am going to give one bold 2022 prediction for each AFC team. Let’s kick things off with the AFC East!